Tag Archives: music video

Grand Mal x side-project Listerlandet will receive its first proper release, in exclusive form, from Repartiseraren in late October 2018. The release is planned to be in a limited edition of chromes cassettes with full on-body printing as per usual, obi-strips, metallic printing for logos and tracklists plus the title of the release. There will also be a limited edition luxury hardback digipak CD with an outer linen cover.

Each of these physical releases will come with a different track and with different covers, only available via Repartiseraren. SkandinavianSpeed will have exclusive access to the digital release itself.

A music-video has been created by Karl Ture Rydby himself, you get a firsthand look and feel for one of the tracks featured on the release, “Nätet läggs i skymningen“. Down below is a short presentation of the release itself:

“Listerlandet is located in the outskirts. Classic, okkult dubby tekno with ambience and esoteric folklore for higher spheres and inner search. This Autumn on cassette, CD with linen cover (Repartiseraren) and digital (SkandinavianSpeed, coming label).“

We get many submissions, some we care more for – in this case Britt Rion and her charming music-video, alongside an even more hypnotizing song: “Chaos & Beauty“. Some of the best music undoubtedly comes from down under, in this case New Zealand, as we’ve seen and heard with Fishrider Records way back in the past of this webzine.

At the first glance you might write it off as your regular pop-oriented blasphemy, but the further in you get – she sets a mood that diverts the attention from pop, into a marvelous metamorphosis of that, singer-songwriter and indie-pop. The catchiness is the only thing lent from regular pop, but the lyrics and intonation in her music is more subliminally beautiful – so she doesn’t have to resort to making a visual interpretation that reflects the vanity of regular pop music – it is a simple video that is Grime-esque in a sense – if you’ve seen one of her videos from “Genesis“.

Her voice is stunningly beautiful as well. We have to struggle not to move out of our own bleak hearts, it is as if a dystopian scenery quickly changes into a beautiful field and a forest full of local creatures singing in the day, when the sunlight hits your eyes and you’re with someone you love.

This surrealistic, brooding and strange sound emanating from Celephais is hypnotizing. Alongside the music-video for the song “Damp Stone Spiral Stairway“, featured on their first album release ever on Ordo Viatorum, is a piece of craftsmanship we’d thought we wouldn’t like at first glance. When combined with the music, the video brings together cinematography and an almost 3D-esque glimpse into something not as futuristic anymore, it feels almost as if we’re viewing this from the perspective of someone three decades ago at least.

Once you’re sucked in, the music never lets go of you, it pulls you further in and holds you up – as if you’ve seen the light for the first time – a metaphoric out of the body experience, as told by weird shapes and forms traversing time. The full album is titled “Grey Dawn, Quaint Gardens” and will be reviewed, track-by-track, tomorrow on Repartiseraren. Nothing more needs to be said about this, we’ll let the video describe it perfectly well on its own – because a great music-video can convey something we ordinary humans can’t do in text, you really need the full audio-visual experience.

Previews of the full album can be listened to on the Ordo Viatorum Soundcloud, we’ve linked that below this text so you can get into both the video and the music at the same time, though only in the shape of previews so far – you will have to purchase the vinyl – it is beautiful to say the least, in a very subliminal way.

Man, Woman, Friend, Computer released their debut-album self-titled album last year and now Yuliya Tsukerman (of Mana Contemporary) have created a music-video titled: “Exordium/Outgrown“. The music is electroacoustic pop music, with experimental tendencies. It is exciting to see such craftsmanship when it comes to music-videos.

The methods Yuliya have used are one-hundred percent analog. With the help of centuries old Czech marionette-techniques, the dolls are paired with modern materials and objects, creating a story that is moving. It is the story of a spaceman coming to terms with his own isolation and loss as he cares for an injured alien. A narrative is created – analogue versus digital – a re-imaginative trip from old to new – pairing them both, but telling them apart as well.

Acapulco. A Mexican municipality but mainly a city, with as many as 234 communities—the most populous being Acapulco itself—with 673 479 inhabitants as of 2010, 85,25% of the people reside in the city. When counting the most populous cities except the main one, which are: Xaltianguis, Kilómetro 30, Tres Palos, San Pedro las Playas, Amatillo—the population combined account for 3,25% of the whole municipality, making it 25857 inhabitants in total, one starts to wonder where the rest of the 11,5% have gone. Where are the other cities? Are there smaller towns, considering there are so many communities? Questions remained unanswered. Here are when Acapulco City Hunters come in – it seems like they’re looking for an answer to that question. Maybe they’re straying away, in metaphors and synonyms, but they’re probably concerned.

Or maybe, just maybe – we’ve been tricked by these con-artists. Making us think of Mexico as the main inspiration for their name, specifically related to the aforementioned questions, but it can also mean “Goin’ to Acapulco“—a track from “Dylan Basement Tapes” (1976), and I paraphrase from an outtake from Sid Griffin’s book “Million Dollar Bash” – from the source Shelton, Robert (1986)—music-journalist Clinton Heylin commented on its sexual innuendo: “…featuring the usual debauched narrator, rambunctious harmonies, and euphemistic ribaldry“ according to Wikipedia. We can see how both sexual innuendos are fitted in a musical environment, influenced or not by either Sid Griffin’s book, Basement Tapes, or Mexico’s ‘lost’ cities and/or communities. A lot of the topics seem to suggest a strong influence of either everything – or simply one of the things listed above.

It’s interesting to note how Acapulco City Hunters is in plural, though other things like ‘his’ patchwork blog “Cosmic Beam“—suggests otherwise. Maybe since the Facebook-page is categorized as a “Community“, rather than an Artist-page, could reveal certain other possible theories. Pluralis it is because it suits the influences for ‘his’ project. If you get the reference we’re trying to make here, you’ve got a good sense of detail. The music-making dates back two years, from when he released “Haunted Bombai“—later to have a remix of the song by “DYSWIL“—filmed by Thomas Skrobek. Apparently a collective (now defunct?) named: “Negative Beat“. One of the actors’ names (Juliette Mellard) suggest that it really is a project born and based in France—collecting individual influences elsewhere.

He’s also done a good rendition of; Marianne Faithfull‘s “Broken English“, originally released on LP in the UK 1979, via Island Records—now a sub-division to Universal Music Group. Though we’re not enthusiasts of Marianne’s intonation – we respect and understand such an immense contribution to England’s—and the world’s—music-life that she, and her discography have revealed throughout the years. With added minimalist synthesizers and a stripped-down not as extravagant atmosphere, Acapulco City Hunters make me like “Broken English“, and take the song for what it is – albeit in a completely new way. We must say that nothing beats an original, not even an original you’re not so delighted to hear in the first place, but they do a perfectly okay effort. We’re sorry to say that the bleep-synthesizer sound is too loud, which takes away part of the experience of listening.

Now I won’t go any further into his discography, more than note that I have written about the split he did withLuminance, titled “The Cold Rush“. Sure, most of it sounds alike when listening through once in a while, but there are certain characteristics that Acapulco City Hunters had developed—that I heard when I had listened to it for a while. We prefer when he doesn’t overcharge on his ethnic vibes. When he keeps it nice and tidy, melodically ambitious and switches between different modes of electronica – is when he’s at his peak. This was exactly what he did with that release. Ironically enough he sings about evolution in “Magdalena” and evolved he has—at least musically. Recently, he also was featured in a track he did together with Luminance—on the “The Broken Window Theory“—a newly released compilation on Wool-E Records.

For Ljudkalendern he gives us, on the 13th December, unfortunately with a delayed article, a song titled “Chaser” – which might actually be the musical hunt for Acapulco. It seems to be something defining him, at the same time cranking up the tempo to maximum—making way for a spastic and erratic synthesizer-driven track. It’s a newly produced song for the purpose of this non-commercial collection – not compilation. We hope that you’ll take a bit of his musical concept with you in your thoughts after you’ve heard it—as delicate as it is forceful.

Winding down, coming home and changing around to accommodate ourselves to the reality we left for another — is not an easy task. We’ve just headed for a vacation and here we are, strong-armed by the world we left a couple of days ago. Time flies by so quickly, so we’ve just calmed down before there was a storm heading for us — a metaphorical one. Now when everything is moving back to what it was before we left it, we have something exciting to announce for everyone reading this blog-zine. You will not believe your eyes, nor’ your ears.

We’ve been working on a project in secrecy. Today is the day when we reveal what’s to come and what you’ll never want to hear, anyway. This project started some months ago and they were only going baby-steps, if anywhere, forward. It all began when I asked Xiu if she wanted to participate and lend an exclusive track for this purpose. She did so and asked if we could not include more people who would be featured in the project to come – so we said: “sure, why not?“. This resulted in the project being even larger then we could have ever anticipated. It grew from one to a number I won’t reveal right now, that will be revealed once the project is over. One of the corner-stones is that it is a non-commercial collection – not really a compilation to be released — but rather a “project” collecting fragments of what Repartiseraren is, and what is preferred around here. I put an emphasis on “non-commercial” and “collection“, just so there will not be any confusion with what it really is and what it is meant to represent.

It was really easy for the artists and groups that are featured on this non-commercial collection — to realize what they should and should not contribute with. Either an exclusive unreleased and newly composed song — or an already composed (but unreleased) track — for the sole purpose of being collected. What can be said, other then “we’re really overwhelmed by the response“? Nothing other than that. We would like to thank everyone that were and still is involved, because without you — this would not even have been possible to begin with. You’ve put your sweat and craftsmanship into it and you can tell by the way it sounds, no matter what genre you’ve set yourself up for.

So let’s get to the point. Since Oksana Rodinova (Xiu) was kind enough to give us ideas which helped the project further, she’s the one who starts this project off with a bang. We’ve gotten our hands on the track “Law Of Light” which is exclusive for this project. We think it displays how she’s evolved and how she can stop in evolution just to give another side of what Xiu is about, another insight — if you will. A suggestive and dark, but transparent song which deals with a certain topic in so many ways possible, within the realms of minimal synth and cold-wave — combined. Before you go ahead and listen to it, we’re also able to present a music-video for your viewing and listening pleasure. You can watch it above. So do that first and then read the first poem when you’ve opened the first window in this calendar:

“Take me into the light, let me be your plight Lead me to your law, so that I can withdraw“

This is1st of December and now the story begins. Tomorrow a new track will be released and the story will be continued. But until then, enjoy the exclusive song “Law Of Light” and the music-video for it, on Repartiseraren.

Bright colors intertwined with VHS-quality and other psychedelic enjoyment. Together with the technology of yesteryear, Roladex have done good in their homage to where their influences come from. With their 80’s-infused synth-pop sound and their carefully executed visual FX create a hypnotic atmosphere which is almost exclusive to music-videos from that decade and before the 2000’s. You will find no polished turds á la big business labels and their PR-menagerie here. Not to mention their song “Glass Statuette” on their newly released split with ((PRESSURES)), which is saturated with the mesmerizing duo’s eloquent vocals whose delivery hypnotize you, as the spastic arpeggio rhythm continually rolls in the foreground – an aquatic melody seduces you. You can’t help but start humming the lyrics in a repetitive fashion. I also think the video captures a bizarre vein that Roladex don’t capture as well with their music, which seems to me when I listen to it to be in all seriousness, but the video itself adds that tongue-in-cheek vibe that music-videos used to give. Either because they were abhorrent in their silliness, or simply delivering a positive nerve in the musical delivery – which in Roladex’s case is true – as you also can’t help but smile.

It would’ve been great if this split-release could’ve featured a music-video by ((PRESSURES)), too. Because then it would’ve been more than two songs that you keep on the repeat. But with that said, I think the track “The Voices” complements “Glass Statuette” very well. I think ((PRESSURES)) are the ones whom deliver the futuristic touch to this release, as the B-Side coincides with Roladex’s passionate nostalgic reflections both in track and video. “The Voices” almost touch cold-wave territory, but instead of going into the coldness and reflections of that – there’s a clear disco-vibe to the whole she-bang. With vocals that soothe your soul, together with a steadfast drum-machine rhythm and cosmic synthesizers – I would say that the A-Side gives more hope for us in the future. Though a lot of melancholy can be heard in both tracks, the bleaker side is when Roladex comes on, but I’m not sure anymore after having seen their music-video. All of this might be my hypnotized me talking, but they’ve charmed me with their other side of the coin. Both tracks are complementary as I’ve said, but one wouldn’t stand with the other and they display different characteristics. I just wish they would’ve included the music-video with the release and also made a music-video for ((PRESSURES)) track. That way, their likeness and difference could’ve been visually represented as well as musically.

Since this is a joint release by Medical Records and Disko Obscura, you can either choose to order the limited edition 7¨ in thick transparent yellow, or transparent urochrome vinyl. It’s your choice whether you’d like to go with Medical Records or Disko Obscura, but they both have their unique take on it and if you’re a collector then you should go for them both. You can order the transparent yellow version here, and the transparent urochrome here. Stream both tracks digitally down below and watch the music-video above.